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Van alters pets' love lives

By JACKIE RIPLEY
Published February 9, 2007

Butterfly and Xena got a free ride on the Neuter Scooter and were still starry-eyed for their trouble. But that's not surprising considering their daylong magical mystery tour.

The two cats had spent a day at the Animal Coalition of Tampa's low-cost spay and neuter clinic, and they were still reeling from the experience, and from the drugs.

"We give them a little painkiller shot in the butt," explained Sharon Zulliger, driver of the Neuter Scooter, a 16-foot van that transports dogs and cats from all over Hillsborough County to and from the South Tampa clinic.

The nonprofit Animal Coalition of Tampa opened the clinic in March with the goal of reducing the county's homeless pet population.

Hillsborough County Animal Services, which is required to accept any animal that is brought in, took in 33,000 unwanted cats and dogs last year and euthanized 83 percent of them. Of the cats brought in, 92 percent were killed. "That's why we really encourage people to spay and neuter their pets," Zulliger said. "There are not enough homes."

ACT charges $40 to spay or neuter cats. The rate for dogs weighing less than 50 pounds is $75. For bigger dogs, it's $90. The van ride is free.

The van makes the rounds every Tuesday and Thursday to designated spots around the county. It picks up roughly 50 pets a week. Clinic workers hope to soon expand its hours and locations.

Linda Hamilton of Odessa is ACT's executive director. She was the driving force behind ACT, and made it a reality in 2001 with help from about 35 area animal protection organizations.

ACT is structured to perform a high volume of neuterings. That way it can charge less than a private veterinarian.

ACT performs about 30 surgeries a day at its clinic on Lemon Street in Tampa and hopes to expand the number of surgeries it performs each year.

The lower-cost surgeries are a blessing for pet owners like Jill Fausey, who recently moved here from Chicago.

"I checked around with regular vets and they were way out of my price range," said Fausey, who was waiting in the parking lot at a Petco in the Carrollwood area north of Tampa on a recent Thursday afternoon.

The Neuter Scooter was due to arrive at any minute, and her cats, Butterfly and Xena, were on board. The van rolled up on schedule, around 4 p.m., and Fausey retrieved her two pets.

That was the easy part. The hard part had been earlier that day, handing them over to a stranger in a dark parking lot at 6:30 a.m.

"I know it must seem kind of weird to give your animal to a strange lady in a van," Zulliger said.

Clinic workers, though, decided the van was necessary after realizing that a lot of people weren't taking advantage of the low-cost program because they had no way of getting to the clinic.

ACT added the Neuter Scooter in July.

"It's nice, especially for a lot of elderly who might not drive or might drive only a few hours a day," Zulliger said.

The pets "usually come in a carrier, especially the smaller dogs," she said. "But they're all secured inside."

So is it a noisy ride?

"It's usually a lot quieter on the way back."

Jackie Ripley can be reached at ripley@sptimes.com or at 813 269-5308.

The county took in 33,000 cats and dogs last year and destroyed 83 percent."That's why we encourage people to spay and neuter their pets," van driver Sharon Zulliger says. "There are not enough homes."

Fast Facts:

Scooter schedule

The van makes its rounds on Tuesday and Thursday.

Pickup locations include Petco stores in Brandon, Carrollwood, New Tampa, South Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

The van also travels to Remington Feed in Riverview, the Three Legged Poodle in Sun City Center and Gulley's Grocery in Plant City.

Pickup times are 6:45 a.m. They get back to the pickup points the same day around 4 p.m.

Pet owners must make reservations by calling the ACT Spay Neuter Clinic at 250-3900.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 08:34:09]